


Still, Now & Forever

by cirquedusorrel



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Community: avengerkink, M/M, kinda overdramatic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-22
Updated: 2014-05-22
Packaged: 2018-01-26 02:33:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1671506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cirquedusorrel/pseuds/cirquedusorrel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I never fell out of love with you, not in all these years. I just got better at hiding it."</p><p> </p><p>Written for the Avengers Kink Meme</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still, Now & Forever

“What’s your fucking problem, Tony? Because—“ Rhodey storms in the Tony’s kitchen.

“My problem is he bought an Apple laptop. Willingly. Who does that?” Tony replies from his seat at the island with a StarkPad in hand.

“Many people Tony. What’s your fucking problem with _him?”_

“He’s whiny—“

“So are you.”

“—and close-minded—“

“Only by your definition.”

“—and quite frankly, a little slow.”

“Not everyone can be a genius.”

Tony looks back to his StarkPad like he thinks the discussion is done. Like Rhodey has just said his piece and there’s nothing more to be said about the way Tony is the bane of his romantic life.

Rhodey sits down across the kitchen island from him. Tony looks back up like he knows that he hasn’t evaded Rhodey’s anger.

“Tony, you’ve got to stop ruining my relationships.”

“This is stupid. You don’t—,” Tony ended with a groan and a yank at his hair.

“I don’t what?” Rhodey asks with a sigh.

Tony looks down at the glass in front of him. “You don’t even like him.”

“I do too!”

“You forget I know what you look like when you like someone,” Tony says.

Something isn’t right. Tony never brings up MIT—at least not like this. Not like he still remembers their senior year with Tony crowded ontop of Rhodey in his narrow dorm room bed. Not like he remembers the nights he’d kiss down Rhodey’s spine and promise him everything.

Rhodey’s pissed enough to want to unsettle Tony though so he throws out an, “Are you so sure?” while he gets up and heads towards the liquor cabinet.

“Why are you wasting your time with him?” Tony turns in his seat so he can face Rhodey to ask.

Rhodey debates between whiskey and gin and goes for the whiskey. It’s Tony’s favorite drink and now his. “I’m not wasting…Tony, you don’t get to make my choices for me.”

Tony laughs at that. “I’m just looking out for you.”

“As a _friend?”_ This is has to be a sick joke. There’s a reason Rhodey doesn’t say much about the people Tony cycles through his bed. Friends don’t have a say in each other’s romantic lives. Don’t have the right. That’s all he and Tony were: friends.

“As a _best_ friend.”

Rhodey snorts and Tony starts to look invested in the conversation which means he’s actually angry. Rhodey counts it as a win.

“That was our deal. When we left MIT, you swore we’d be friends still.” Rhodey takes a large sip at that. The last year at MIT had been something they mutually buried away in a closet. And Tony kept dragging it out again and again.

“I don’t get your problem with him, _best friend_.”

“ _My problem_ is he’s not good enough for you.”

“I wasn’t going to marry him. I just—I’m getting a handle for dating post-Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“Well…I’m fairly sure he won’t be returning any of your calls anytime soon, so you’ll have to date someone else.”

Rhodey is contemplating the merits of a second glass of whiskey. Tony’s not so much backed down or admitted he was wrong as redirected the topic. Rhodey usually lets him get away with it whenever they skirt near the edge of talking about MIT. He feels strange tonight.

After Afghanistan he’d been forced to acknowledge that he still loved Tony. Still loved him and wanted him all for himself even if he didn’t think he would ever touch him like that again.

He’d found Tony in the desert, returned him home, and then gone home to Philadelphia and listened to his mother cluck and tell him that he was an idiot. Even Jesus had only lasted 40 days in the desert by faith in God, she’d said. Rhodey’d managed another 20 days past that—of course he was still in love with Tony.

“Look…I’ll even help out to make up for it. I can have twenty eligible bachelors in here within an hour.”

Rhodey groans.

“Fine! One date, tomorrow night at the Savoy and I promise he’ll have both a Ph.D and a great ass.” Tony says like he’s doing Rhodey a favor.

It’s not enough because the whole point was that Tony was supposed to stay away from his dating life.

“Look Tony, I’m moving on. I’m trying, at least, to finally move on. Do you know how many yea—“ Rhodey broke off with a jagged laugh. “Of course you do.”

Tony is looking more and more confused by what Rhodey’s saying but Rhodey presses on because he just needs to say it now.

 “I can’t keep _pining_ over you,” Rhodey finishes.

“Pining? But after MIT, you said—,“ Tony starts.

"I never fell out of love with you, not in all these years. I just got better at hiding it."

It’s the truth. Rhodey can’t look away from Tony’s gaze. He can see the way Tony’s going back over the last two decades, working through memory after memory to apply the knowledge like a patch to make the code work again.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Tony keeps staring at him as he gets up. "...So, wanna go get dinner?"

Rhodey exhales with relief. They’re still friends. “Greek or Ethiopian? I’ve been wanting to try something new on someone else’s dime.”

“No,” Tony says deliberately while movie closer to him, “Do you want _dinner_? With me.” He steps in, hands clenching Rhodey’s Air Force blue top and kisses Rhodey.

“Oh.” Rhodey’s brain has stopped processing and all he can do is stare blankly.

“…or I can still get you that Ph.D with a great ass. If you want to be over me,” Tony adds in a rush as he steps back.

“Only if you’re the Ph.D in the chair across from me,” Rhodey steps forward and settles his hands on Tony’s waist.

Tony smirks, “You think I have a great a—“

Rhodey kisses him before he can finish. He’s forgotten how satisfying that was.

When he pulls back, Tony laughs delightedly. “You’re going to be doing that a lot, ar—“

Rhodey kisses him again.

 

 +++++++++++++

[Avenger Kink Prompt](http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/18271.html?thread=42529887#t42529887)

**Author's Note:**

> Btw: in case you were wondering the Ph.D with a great ass was Bruce Banner.
> 
> “Do you want to start over?”
> 
> “No. I just want to start again.”
> 
> “Then, Tony, order in because I’m putting out.”
> 
>  
> 
> My (writing) tumblr: http://cirquedusorrel.tumblr.com/


End file.
